THE BIRTH SUTRA. (The Buddha's predecessor story) Jàtaka 31. THE STORY OF THE BIRD'S NEST (Kulàvaka's predecessor) Let the baby bird's nest ..., This story, when in Ky Vien, the Master told about a Male-stilts who drank unfiltered water. According to legend, two young bhikkhus from Savatthi returned to the province, stayed in a comfortable place until they were satisfied, and then left from there, heading to Ky Vien to meet the fully Enlightened One. One bhikkhu has a water filter in his hand and the other does not. Two people often filter water together to drink. One day, they quarreled. The owner of the water filter does not allow the other person to use the water filter, filter it himself and then drink the water. The other did not have a water filter, and could not hold back his thirst, so he drank unfiltered water. The two of them successively went to Jetavana, bowed down to the Master, and sat down. After a cordial welcome, the Master immediately asked: - Where do you come from? - White World-Honored One, we are in the country of Kossala, live in a village, from there we go to see you. But do you guys get along on the road? The person without a water filter said: - World-Honored One, this person quarreled with me in the middle of the road, not allowing me to filter the water. The other said: - World-Honored One, this person does not filter the water, but even though he knows, he still drinks water with sentient beings. - Is it true, bhikkhu, that even though you know, you still drink the water of sentient beings? “Yes, sir, I drink unfiltered water. Teacher: - Monk, in the past, the wise people ruled the city of gods, while losing the battle, fled on the sea, determined not to kill sentient beings for the king's sake, so they gave up great fame to save the lives of the golden-bird chicks, and they turned the cart around. Having said this, the Master told the story of the past. * Once upon a time, in the country of Makita, in the city of Vuong Xa, There was a king Magdalene reigning. In the same way, Shakyamuni (God, Sakka) in a previous life was born in the village of Macala in the country of Makati. At that time, the Bodhisatta was born as the son of a great noble family living in that village of Macala. On the naming day, the Bodhisattva was named Prince Magha; When he grew up he was named Maghamanava (the young Magha). Parents, marry the Bodhisatta a wife from a noble family. The Bodhisatta, together with his sons and daughters, grew up, often gave alms, and kept the Five Precepts, and there were thirty families in that village. And the members of those thirty families, one day, stood in the middle of the village, dealing with problems in the village. The bodhisattva, where he stood, swept away the dust with his feet, made it a good place, and stood there. Then another man came and took his place. The bodhisattva does another place, another place, until the place for everyone becomes good. In another time, the Bodhisatta built a tent, then cleared the tent, and then built a large room, in which there were chairs, beds and water jugs. In another time, those thirty people led by the Bodhisatta became good people like themselves. Bodhisattvas often accompany them to do meritorious deeds such as: getting up early in the morning, with small axes, hammers, and clubs in hand, coming to the crossroads, they beat with a mace, bounce rocks, push stones across On the one hand, clearing the trees that collided with the axles, leveling the rough roads, building bridges, digging ponds and lakes, building houses, giving alms and observing precepts. Thus, most of the inhabitants of the village obeyed the bodhisattva's advice and kept the precepts. The village chief thought about them: “In the past, when these people drank alcohol, killed animals, etc., I got a lot of money, including wine, fines, and offerings. Now the young Magha makes them keep the precepts, so they don't kill anymore, etc... Now I will make them renounce the Five Precepts." That person went to the king indignantly and said: - Dear Heavenly Son, there is a group of robbers, destroying villages and doing many crimes! The king heard him say this, and said: - Go and bring them! The village chief caught them tied up, led them to him and told the king: - Dear Heavenly Son, the robbers have been brought in. Without investigating their deeds, the king said: – Give them to the elephants! The king made them all lie down on the king's court and brought the elephants back. The Bodhisattva advised them: - You should practice the precepts. Be kind to the slanderer, to the king, to the elephant, to yourself. They followed that advice. The king's men brought elephants to rub them dead. The elephant was led but did not approach, just roared loudly and ran away. They brought another elephant. They all ran away like that. The king thought, "They must have the elixir of life in their hands!" and the king ordered control. After checking and found nothing, they said to the king: – Then they must have read spells. – Ask them. The king's people asked, the Bodhisattva replied: - Yes. They told the king.. The king called all of them to come and said: – Read your mantra. The bodhisattva replied: - Dear Heavenly Son, we do not know any other spells. But the thirty of us do not kill, do not take what is not given, do not commit adultery, do not lie, do not drink alcohol. We generate compassion, we give alms, we level the roads, we dig ponds and lakes, we build houses. That is our charm, our strength. The king was very pleased with them, and immediately gave them all the property of the slanderer, and made the slanderer their slave, and gave them the whole herd of elephants and the village. From then on, they did meritorious deeds to their liking, they called carpenters to build a large meeting room at the crossroads. Because they no longer have desire for women, they do not allow women to participate in the merit of making the meeting room. At that time, in the house of the Bodhisattva, there were four women named Thien Phap, Tu Duy, Joyful Joy, and Thien Born. One of the four women, Thien Phap, personally went to find the carpenter, bribed him and said: - Hey, let me contribute the main part in making this meeting room. The carpenter accepted the request, first let the wood dry to make the spire, cut it, punched it, finished the spire, then rolled it up with a cloth and put it away. When the carpenter finished building the meeting room, when it was time to put the spire, he cried again: - Oh, venerable sirs, there is one thing we have not done. - What is this? - A pointed tower is required. – Okay, we will bring. – Now cannot do with newly cut trees. We need to have a pointed tower with the tree cut down first, let it dry for a while, then cut it, and cut holes for it. - So what to do now? – Find out whose house has a spire finished and for sale. They searched, and found that there was a tower in Shan Fa's house, but they couldn't buy it. “If you allow me to share in the merit as a meeting room, I will give you the pointed stupa. – No, we do not allow women to participate in the merit. The carpenter said to them: - Why do the venerable ones say that? Except for the Brahma world, there is no other place that excludes women! Let's take the pointed tower. Only then will our work be completed. They willingly took the spire, and finished the meeting room. After that, they set up wooden benches, set up pots of water, and provided porridge and rice. They built a wall around the meeting room, attached doors, spread sand between the walls and planted a row of coconut palm trees outside. And Tu Duy built a park there. There, there was not a single flower or fruit tree without her name. She digs a beautiful lake, full of lotus flowers of five colors. And Thien Sanh did not do anything. The Bodhisattva fulfills seven vows: To serve his mother, to serve his father, to respect his elder brother, to speak truthfully, to speak no evil words, not to speak slander, to subdue dispassion and greed, and summarizes it in the verse: The one who nurtures parents, Respects the head of the family, Speaks with peace and love, Abandoning slander, Nie Shan greedily speaks the truth, Wrath is subdued, The Thirty-three Gods are called True People. The bodhisattva attained such a state worthy of praise, and at the end of his life was reborn as the Thirty-three Gods Emperor in the heaven of thirty-three. The bodhisattva's friends were also born there. In that time, in the realm of the Thirty-three, the gods Asura (Asura) also lived together. God likes to say: – What good is it for us when a kingdom has to be shared with another? Then he let the Asulas drink the water of the gods. When they were drunk, the Lord God liked to hold them by the feet and threw them into the abyss of Mount Sineru (Tu-di). They fell into the castle in the Asura realm. Atula's castle is located on the lowest level of Mount Tudi, as wide as the thirty-three heavens. There grew a tree like the Coral Tree of the Devas that lived for a lifetime and was called the Lily Tree. The lily plants bloom, letting them know this is not their heaven because the heavens bloom with Coral flowers. They said: - The old man likes to get us drunk, then throws us on the great sea and takes over our city of gods. Let's go fight him and take back our gods! Then they climbed up the slopes of Mount Tudi like ants climbing a pole. Emperor Shakyamuni heard that the Asuras had ascended, rushed to the surface of the sea to fight, was defeated by them, and fled on the Vejeyanta chariot a hundred and fifty miles long, running on the southern waves of the sea. . The chariot of Emperor Thich ran across the sea, reaching the forest of silk cotton trees. On the way of the car, the forest of silk cotton trees was cut down like coconut palms and fell on the sea. Golden-winged birds (Garula, golden-winged squirrel) flew around on the sea surface, shouting loudly. Emperor Shakyamuni asked the driving god Matali: - Hey, friend Matali, what's that sound? Does it sound pitiful? - Dear God, because the forest of silk cotton fell, due to the speed of your chariot crushed, the Kimchi-birds were afraid of death and cried out in unison. The Taoist said: - Hey, friend Matali, don't make them weary, for our sake. We do not kill for the sovereignty of the heavens. For their sake, I will give up my life and surrender myself to the Asuras! Turn the car around! Having said this, the Emperor Tathagata recited the verse: Let the baby birds' nests, O Ma-tali! In the forest of Simbali Avoid the mouth of the evil lord, I am ready to give my life To the Asuras, Do not let these birds be torn from their nests. The chariot-driver, Matali, listened to Shakyamuni, turned around, and went to the heavens by another route. The Asuras saw Shakyamuni turning the car around and thought to themselves: "Surely the Shakyas have come from other worlds and have received reinforcements, so they turned around." Shaken by fear of death, they fled into the Asura castle. As for Shakyamuni, he entered the city of gods and stood in the middle of the city, surrounded by the gods of the two heavenly worlds. In that moment, the earth cracked, and the castle of Vejayanta (Ultimate) rises a thousand miles high. Because it emerges when winning a battle, it is called Vejayanta castle. In order to prevent the return of the Asulas, Emperor Shakyamuni ordered to protect the five places, related to this matter, Emperor Shakyamuni uttered a verse: Between two invincible cities, Set up five places of protection, Protected by Magic Snakes, By Kimsi-birds, Kum-bhan-das, Yakshas, ​​And by the four heavenly kings. Protected by these five places, the God-lord, Emperor Sakyamuni, enjoys heavenly glory. Thien Phap, after her death, was reborn as a queen. As a result of the offering of the pointed stupa, arose for her a castle called Thien Phap Court with heavenly treasures, five hundred miles high. There, under a white umbrella of the gods, the God-lord, Shakyamuni, sat on a golden mattress a mile wide and did what was to be done for the gods and men. and Thinking, after the end of life, she was also born as the queen of Shakyamuni; As a result of the construction of a park, a park was created for her named Cittalatavana (Thought Vien). Joyful, at the end of her life, was also born as the queen of Shakyamuni, and as a result of making offerings to the lake, there arose for her a lake called Nanda. And Thien Sanh, due to not doing any good deeds, was born as a crane in a cave in the forest. Seeing no sign of Thien Sinh anywhere, wanting to know where she was reborn, Emperor Thich directed his mind to look and see her, so he went there to visit her and took her to heaven, showing only the beautiful city of gods. , the castle of the gods of Thien Phap, the forest of vines of Thought, the lake of Joy, Emperor Thich said: - These girls, because of good deeds, should be born as my queen. And she, not doing good deeds, must be born as a crane. From now on, keep the precepts! After exhorting her and giving her the Five Precepts, Emperor Shakyamuni brought her back to her place and released her. From then on, she kept the precepts. After a while, wanting to find out if she still kept the precepts, Emperor Shakyamuni came to manifest as a fish lying in front of her. Thinking the fish was dead, the crane grabbed the fish's head. The fish wagged its tail, the crane released the fish, and said: – Oh, it's still alive! Emperor Thich said: – Good thing, she can keep the precepts! Then he left. The crane, after his death, was born into a pottery family in Benares. Emperor Thich did not know where she was reborn. Upon learning of her place of rebirth, Emperor Thich immediately filled a cart of golden cucumbers, disguised himself as an old man, sat in the middle of the village and shouted: - Come get the cucumbers! Come get the cucumbers! Many people say to themselves: – Hey, dear friend, give it to us! - I only tell those who keep the precepts! Do you guys keep the precepts? We don't know gender. We will pay. - I don't need money! I will give it to those who keep the precepts! The people said: - This old man is so stupid. Then they left. Thien Sanh heard that, thinking that these cucumbers were brought to her, he went to her and said: - Hey, dear friend, give it to me! – Does she keep the precepts? - Yes, I keep the precepts! – These cucumbers are brought to you by me! Then Di Thi left the cucumber cart in front of her house and left. And she kept the precepts for the rest of her life. Since then, she was born as the daughter of the Asura god Vepacittiva, thanks to keeping the precepts, she is very beautiful. When she reached adulthood, her father called the Asuras together, leaving the daughter free to choose her husband according to her preferences. At that time, Emperor Shakyamuni was looking for where Thien was born, and knowing where she was reborn, he thought to himself: "She is looking for a husband according to her interests, she will definitely marry me!" Emperor Shakyamuni immediately manifested an Asura, and went to that place. She was adorned and brought to the meeting place to choose her husband as she wanted. She looked at Emperor Thich, with love in the past, immediately chose Emperor Thich: - This is my husband! Emperor Thich took her back to the city of gods, placing her on the position of queen at the head of twenty million dancers. She lived like that until her death and followed her career. * After telling the story, the Teacher reprimanded the Male-stilts and said: - Thus, the Male-stilts, formerly while the wise ruled the kingdom of heaven, though they gave up their lives, I also do not kill. As for him, he ordained in the Dharma of liberation like that, drinking unfiltered water, and having all kinds of sentient beings. After reprimanding that bhikkhu and combining the two stories, The Teacher identified the Forerunner as follows: - At that time, Matali's charioteer was Ànanda, and I was Tathagata. -ooOoo- 32. Dancing song (Nacca's predecessor) Your sound is soothing... , This story, when in Ky Vien, the Master told about a Male-stilts with many objects. Like the story was told in Devadhamma Predecessor (No. 6), the Master asked: - Male-stilts, is it true that you have many things? - Yes, sir, World-Honored One. – Why do you have many objects? Hearing this, the Male-stilts got angry, threw off his robes, robes, stood naked in front of the Teacher and said: - Now I will strip like this! Everyone said: – Oh, what a shame! That male-stilts ran away and returned to the world. The bhikkhu-stilts sat in the Dharma hall, talking about the unkind attitude that the bhikkhu had done in front of the teacher. The Teacher came and asked: - Monks, What story are you sitting here talking about today? "Venerable sir, we are talking about that bhikkhu who, in front of the Blessed One and in the midst of the four assemblies, renounced the three precious gems, stood naked like a village child, hated by the masses, he has renounced the Dharma, renounced the Dharma! The Great Master said: - Monks, it is not now that this Male-stilts does not have the noble qualities, abandoning the Dharma. In his past life, he abandoned his precious wife. Having said this, the Master told the following story. * Once upon a time, in the first life, the four-legged animals honored the Lion as king, the fish respected the fish god Ananda, and the birds respected the sky geese Suvanna (Kim Nga). Daughter of the wild goose king Suvanna, a wild goose he has renounced the Dharma, renounced the Dharma! The Great Master said: - Monks, it is not now that this Male-stilts does not have the noble qualities, abandoning the Dharma. In his past life, he abandoned his precious wife. Having said this, the Master told the following story. * Once upon a time, in the first life, the four-legged animals honored the Lion as king, the fish respected the fish god Ananda, and the birds respected the sky geese Suvanna (Kim Nga). Daughter of the wild goose king Suvanna, a wild goose he has renounced the Dharma, renounced the Dharma! The Great Master said: - Monks, it is not now that this Male-stilts does not have the noble qualities, abandoning the Dharma. In his past life, he abandoned his precious wife. Having said this, the Master told the following story. * Once upon a time, in the first life, the four-legged animals honored the Lion as king, the fish respected the fish god Ananda, and the birds respected the sky geese Suvanna (Kim Nga). Daughter of the wild goose king Suvanna, a wild gooseYou are very beautiful, the king granted a wish. She wishes to have a husband according to her preferences. The king of wild geese fulfills my wish to gather all the birds in Snow Mountain. Flocks of birds of all kinds such as wild geese, peacocks, etc... flocked to fly, gathered on a large stone plateau. The king of wild geese called his daughter to come and said: - Choose the husband bird that you like! She looked at the flock of birds, saw a peacock with a beautiful neck with jewel colors and colorful tail feathers, so she chose that bird and said: - This bird will be your husband! The flock of birds around the peacock said: - Hey peacock, this princess, among the birds, has chosen you as her husband. Cheer up you! The peacock was so overjoyed that he shouted: - Until today, you have not seen my strength! Then among the flocks of birds, having lost their precious gems, the peacock spread its wings. start dancing and when dancing it does not cover its body. The goose king Suvanna said embarrassedly: - This bird has no evil arising from the inside, no preciousness arising from the outside, I will not give my daughter to the person who destroyed the preciousness! Then the king of wild geese uttered a verse among the birds: Your voice is sweet, Your back is beautiful, Your neck in color is like lapis lazuli, Your tail feathers are spread wide, Long and wide, But because of you dancing, I do not give girls. In front of those birds, the king of wild geese gave the princess to a baby geese. And the peacock lost the goose princess, was ashamed, flew high, and fled. The wild goose king also went to his residence. * The Master said: - The Male-stilts not now that Male-stilts have lost the precious, giving up the Dharma. In the past, he lost his precious wife. When he finished telling this Dharma talk, he combined the two stories, and identify the Forerunner as follows: – At that time, the peacock was a person with many things. And the king of the wild geese is I. -ooOoo- 33. THE STORY OF LIFE IN CONFORMITY (Sammodamana's predecessor) When living in harmony..., This story, while staying at the Eagle Tree Garden near Kapilavastu, the Master told about quarreling with each other. for the pillow. The story will be presented in Kunala Forerunner (No. 536). At that time, the Teacher told the relatives: - Hey, Great Kings, you guys should not argue with each other. In the past, animals lived in harmony. have won over the enemy; and when he lived in discord, he suffered a great destruction. At the request of the royal family, relatives, the Master told the story of the past. * Once upon a time, when King Brahmadatta reigned in Ba-la-complaint, the Bodhisatta was born as the leading quail, surrounded by thousands of quails, living in the forest. At that time, A bird hunter goes to the quail area, by imitating the calls of quails, he knows where the birds gather. The hunter immediately threw the net over the birds, blocked the contours, gathered all the quails into one term, put them in a basket, went home, sold and lived with the money. One day, the Bodhisatta said to the quail: – This bird hunter killed many of our relatives; Now we have a way to make him unable to catch us. From now on, when he has cast the net over your heads, each quail will put his head in a hole in the net, raise the net up to where you want it, and lower it on a thornbush. In doing so, we will escape many catches! They all obey. On the next day, when the net was cast over the birds, they lifted the net up as the Bodhisatta commanded and dropped it on a thorn bush, then escaped by falling. The bird hunter was still removing his net from the thornbush, when it was late afternoon, so he went home empty-handed. For the next several days, the quails did the same. The bird hunter kept fidgeting until the sun went down, only worrying about removing the net, catching nothing, and going home empty-handed. The angry wife said: – Day after day, he returned empty-handed. I thought maybe he had another upbringing! The bird hunter said: - Madam, I have no other place to feed. But the quails live in harmony with each other. They took away the net I cast, and dropped it on a thornbush and went away. But they will not always live in harmony. Don't worry. When they quarrel, then I will catch them all, the smile will return to her lips! Then he uttered a verse to his wife: When living together in harmony, The birds carry their nets, When they quarrel, They fall into my hands. A few days passed, when a quail landed on the feeding ground, unintentionally stepping on top of another bird. The bird was angry and said: - Who stepped on my head? - I walked involuntarily. Don't be mad at me! However, the bird was still angry, continuing to say: – Do you think that you are the only one to lift the net? When they argued with each other, the Bodhisatta thought: "There is no safety when arguing. Now the birds will no longer lift the net. Therefore, the quails will be in trouble, the hunter will seize the opportunity. I won't live here anymore!" Then the Bodhisatta took his flock of birds to another place. The bird hunter came again, after a few days, imitating the quail's voice, and threw the net over where they were congregating. A quail said: – It is said that when you lift up the net, the feathers on your head fall. So now lift up! Another bird said: – It is said that when you lifted the net, the feathers of your wings fell. So now lift it up! Thus, when the quails were arguing, the bird hunter lifted up the net, caught all the birds and stuffed them in a basket, brought it home and hoped to bring a lot of smiles to his wife. * The Teacher said: - So, Sir, you guys should not argue with each other. Controversy is the source of destruction. After giving this Dharma talk, the Master combined the two stories and identified the Predecessor as follows: - At that time, the mindless quail was Devadatta, and the wise quail was I. So. -ooOoo- 34. FISH STORY (Maccha's predecessor) I am not because of heat or cold ..., This story, while in Ky Vien, the Master told about a Male-stilts who fell in love with his wife before ordination. At that time, the Master asked that bhikkhu: - Is it true, Male-stilts, that you are infected with craving? - Indeed, venerable sir! - Infected by whom? “World-Honored One, my former wife is very gentle to the touch. I can't leave her! The Master said to that Male-stilts: - This female-stilts, it was that woman who created unhappiness for him. In the old days, he nearly died because of that woman. Thanks to My coming, he was saved from death. Having said this, the Master told the story of the past. * In the past, when King Brahmadatta reigned in Ba-la-complaint, the Bodhisatta was in charge of the king's religious rituals. At that time, you fished and cast your nets in the river. A large fish followed and played with the female, her wife in a very affectionate way. The female went ahead, smelled the net, swam around the net and left. The male fish, blinded by attachment, went straight into the net. The fishermen, knowing that the fish was caught in the net, pulled it up, caught the fish, but did not kill it, and threw it on the sand. They said: – We will grill this fish over hot coals to eat. Then they piled a pile of coals and sharpened the stick. The fish thought, "I don't mourn over being roasted over hot coals, or pierced by sticks, or any other suffering. But just because of the female, my wife will be sad, thinking that I have gone with another female. That's what hurts me!" While mourning, the fish said the verse: I am not because of heat or cold, Not because of being caught in a net, I am afraid that my wife will think, I am in love with another woman! At that time, the person in charge of religious ceremonies, surrounded by servants, went to the riverbank to bathe. He knows the language of all species. Hearing the fish lament, he thought, "This fish is crying and lamenting. To die in such a sick state of mind, it will be reborn in hell. I will be the one to help him!”. He approached the fishermen and said: - Hey guys, don't you guys sell us a fish a day to make that curry? The fishermen said: - Sir, why do you say that? You can take away any fish you like! - We don't need any other fish, except this one. - Sir, please take it. The Bodhisatta, with his two hands, caught the fish, sat on the riverbank and advised: - Hey fish, if I didn't see you today, you would be dead. But from now on, you should not let love rule! After admonishing, the Bodhisatta dropped the fish into the water and returned to the city. * After narrating this Dharma talk, the Teacher preaches the Truths. At the end of the lecture, the Male-stilts were infected with the fruit of the residual fruit. The Teacher combines two stories, and identifies the Forerunner as follows: - At that time, the female fish was the wife of the previous time, The male fish is the infected Male-stilts, and the one in charge of religious rituals is Ta. -ooOoo- 35. STORY OF QUALITY (Vattaka's predecessor) Having wings that can't fly ..., This story, while traveling in the land of Ma-kita, the Master told about the forest fire being extinguished.. At one time the Blessed One was traveling in the land of Magdalene. While going for alms in a small village in Makita, after a meal, on the way back to the community of monks, the Blessed One saw a great fire bursting up. In front and behind him were many Male-stilts. The fire came and spread, forming a curtain of smoke and a curtain of fire. Some Male-stilts are still ordinary people, for fear of death, they say: - Let's create an opposite fire where the fire is burning, the other fire will not spread. Then with this intention, they made a fire with the stick and the spark was kindled. Some other Male-stilts said: - Hi, Hien, what are you doing? Sages like those who do not see the moon standing in the middle of nowhere, or the circle of the sun with its thousand rays rising from the eastern world, or the ocean on which we are standing. Or the Sages do not see Mount Sumeru when the Sages go with the Higher Beings in this world and in the heavenly world. The sages do not look to the Fully Enlightened One, but simply shout: Let us create an opposing fire! The sages do not know Buddha power. Let's go closer to the Guru. All the bhikkhus from front to back approached the Teacher, standing in a group. The Master, together with a group of Male-stilts, stood on a patch of ground. The roaring forest fires spread as if to swallow them all alive, but when they reached the place where the Tathagata stood, they spread around, not closer than sixteen inches. It does not have the power to spread an area of ​​thirty-two ranges (1 range = 1, 8 meters). The Male-stilts spoke up in praise of the Teacher's virtue: - Oh, the virtue of the Buddhas! This inanimate flame could not spread to where the Buddhas stood, but was extinguished like a grass torch in water. Oh, how wonderful is the power of the Buddhas! The Teacher, hearing their story, immediately said: - Monks, it is not only now that I have the power to make the fire go out, when it reaches this place. This is the power of the true conduct that I did in the past. It is in this place, for a whole lifetime, that fire will not burn. This miracle lasts for a lifetime. Then Venerable Ànanda arranged the Sangha-lei robe into four cushions for the Master to sit on. The Master sits cross-legged. The group of monks, paying homage to the Tathagata, surrounded him and sat down. The Male-stilts asked: - World-Honored One, we only know the present, and the past is concealed. May the Blessed One clarify the matter for us. At their request, the Master told the story of the past. * Once upon a time, in the country of Makita, in this place, the Bodhisatta was reborn as a quail. From the egg, the baby bird broke open the shell on its own and came out, the body was the size of a ball. Parents put it in the bird's nest, the mother bird brings food to feed it. It does not have the power to spread its wings and fly through the air, nor does it have the strength to raise its legs to walk on land. At that place, year after year, forest fires often burned. During this time, the forest fire is burning with a loud roar. Flocks of birds flew out from the nest, scared to death, cried out, and fled. Bodhisatta's parents were afraid of death, so they fled and left the bodhisattva. Bodhisattva lying in the nest, stretching out his neck, seeing the fire spreading, immediately thought: "If I have the power to spread my wings to fly into the air, and I can go to another place; or if we have the strength to raise our legs, we can walk on our feet to another place. My parents, fearing death, left me alone, ran away to save me. Now we have no other refuge. I'm helpless on my own, what should I do!" He thought again: "In this world, there is merit, there is actually merit. There were those in the past who had perfected the perfections of conduct, sat under the Bodhi tree, attained Perfect Enlightenment, fully attained the precepts of concentration and wisdom, liberated, liberated from view, attained the truth, and attained compassion. compassion, patience, gathering affection and equality for all sentient beings, the Omniscient Buddhas. There are Dharma virtues that they have realized. And we get a truth: A dharma-nature exists. Therefore, we need to remember the merits attained by the Buddhas of the past, grasp the dharma-nature of the truth present in us, do a virtuous act of repelling the fire, bringing safety to me and to the rest of the birds.” Therefore, this verse is said: In the world there is virtue, Truthfulness, purity, compassion, It is with that truth I will do one conduct, True conduct is unsurpassed. Or directing mindfulness of the Dharma, Reciting the Buddhas of the past, Relying on true power, I do true conduct. Then the Bodhisattva recites the merits of all the Buddhas who have entered Nirvana in the past, performs a true act in the true name present in himself, and recites the verse: Having wings cannot fly, Having legs cannot Go, My parents have forsaken me, O fire, go away! When the Bodhisatta spoke that truth, the flame went back and forth about sixteen steps (1 range = 1.8 m). When it returns like this, the fire does not burn the forest it passes through and is extinguished there, like a torch dipped in water. Therefore, the verse is said as follows: I do true conduct, Great curtain of fire. Sixteen steps backwards Like a torch meets water. During this lifetime, that place is not burned by fire, which is called a supernatural power in one life. Thus, the Bodhisatta did true conduct, and at the end of his life, he followed his karma. The Master said: - Monks, it is not only now that I have the power to keep the fire from reaching this forest, but in the past, when I was a baby quail, I had the strength of a true conduct. Real. * After narrating this Dharma talk, the Master preaches the Truths. At the end of the lecture, some people testify to the fruit of the Project, some to the fruit of Non-Returning, some to the fruit of Arahantship. The Teacher, combines the two stories, and identifies the Forerunner as follows: - At that time, my parents are now my parents in the past, and the king of quails is me. -ooOoo- 36. STORY OF THE BIRD (Sakura's predecessor) Birds live in the world… , This story, While staying at Ky Vien, the Master told about the burnt leaf hut. Legend has it that a monk took the subject of meditation on the Master. Going from Jetavana to Kosala, he lived in a forest abode, near a border village. In the first month, that hut was burned. He informed everyone: - My leaf hut was on fire. I live hard. And the people were told: - Now our field is in drought, we will do it after slapping water for the field. When the watering is finished, they sow seeds, after sowing, they build fences; When the fence is done, they pull the weeds, they reap, they thresh the rice. Thus, they mentioned one thing after another, until three months had passed. That monk for three months had to live in misery in the open air, and developed the subject of meditation, but he did not get what he wanted. Therefore, when the ceremony was over, that bhikkhu went to the Teacher, bowed down, and sat down to one side. After a cordial welcome, The Master asked: - Male-stilts, do you live comfortably in the rainy season, does your meditation subject achieve results? That female-stilts reported the matter up, and said: - Because I do not have a suitable residence, so the subject of meditation has no results. The Master said: - In the past time, Male-stilts, even animals knew the place suitable for them, how could you not know? Having said this, the Master told the story of the past. * Once upon a time, when King Barhmadatta reigned in Ba-la-complaint, the Bodhisatta was born as a bird, surrounded by birds, and lived on a large tree, full of branches, in a forest. One day, when the branches were rubbing against each other, the bushes fell, and the smoke rose. Seeing this, the Bodhisatta thought, "When these two branches are rubbed together, fire will arise. Falling fire will burn the old leaves. From there, this tree will burn. We can't be here. We have to go somewhere else.” Then the Bodhisattva said this verse to the birds The birds live in the world, Depending on where they live, There is fire, O birds stay away, Go to other directions, If he rests there, Fear will born. The wise birds listened to the Bodhisatta's words and immediately flew up with the Bodhisatta into the air and went to another place. The birds without wisdom say: - He is like a frog sitting at the bottom of a well. So they didn't listen to the bodhisattva's words, still living right there. From then on, as the Bodhisatta had foreseen, fire was born and burned the tree. While the smoke and fire rose, the birds blinded by the smoke, unable to move away, fell into the sea of ​​fire, one after another, and were destroyed. The Master said: - This Male-stilts, in the past; Even the animals that live in the tall trees know the right place for them, why don't you? * After narrating this Dharma talk, the Master preaches the Truths. At the end of the lecture, that Male-stilts attained the fruit of the Stream. The Master combined the two stories, and identified the Forerunner: - At that time, the birds that followed the Bodhisattva's words were the Buddha's assembly, and the intelligent bird was me. -ooOoo- 37. STORY OF CHILDREN (Tittira's predecessor) Who respects the elderly ... , This story, when going to Sāvatthi, the Master told about the elder Sāriputta who was deprived of his residence. how. When Mr. Anathapindika had finished building the monastery and sent messengers to inform him, the Master departed from Rajagaha, went to Vaishali, lived there as he pleased, and then set out for Sāvatthi. At that time, the disciples of the group of Six Male-stilts went ahead; when the residences are not yet occupied by the Elders, they take them: - This residence is for our teachers, this is for our elders, this is for us. The elders who came later did not get the residences. The Elder Sariputra's disciples sought refuge for the Elder, but could not. The elder was not a resident, sat or walked under a tree not far from the Master's residence. Early in the morning, the Master came out, clearing his throat out loud. The elder over there cleared his throat. The Blessed One asked: - Who is it? "World-Honored One, I am Sariputra. "Sariputra, what are you doing here at this hour?" The elder narrated the incident. The Master heard the story and thought: "Now that I am alive, the bhikkhus still lack respect and respect for each other. When I have passed away, what will they do next?". Thinking thus, the Teacher arose anxiety for the sake of the Dharma. When it was just dawn, he told the assembly of the assembly, and asked the monks: - Is it true, monks, that the disciples of the group of Six Bhikkhus went ahead to take up all the residences of the Chief Male-stilts? old man? "Indeed, venerable sir. The Blessed One immediately criticized the group of Six Male-stilts. He preached to the monks: - Monks, who deserves the best seat, the best water, the best alms food? Someone said: - The monk from the family of the King-di-li. Someone said: - The monk from the Brahmin family, from the householder's family. Others say: - Those who keep the law, those who preach the Dharma, those who have attained the first Zen, the second Zen, the third Zen, the fourth Zen. Others said: - The Stream-winners, the One-returners, the Non-returners, the Arahants, the Three-Mind-witnesses, the six Victorious ones. When the Male-stilts had said their thoughts, the Master said: - Monks, in my Dhamma, I deserve the best seat, not one who has gone forth from the family of the Kings of kings. , not a monk from a Brahmin family, from a householder's family, not a law-keeper, not a sutra-keeper, not those who maintain, not those who have attained the first Zen, etc.... not those who have entered the stream, etc.... But, monks, in this Dhamma, it is decided according to age that they should pay their respects and welcome them. , join hands, serve, that get the best seats, the best water, the best alms food. It is here that older age is the measure. Therefore, the older male-stilts deserve these things. But now, bhikkhus, Sariputra, my highest disciple, who turns the Wheel of Depending on the Law, worthy of the next abode of mine, has not been a resident, has passed through spend the night living under the tree. If you don't respect each other now, how will you behave with the passage of time? For the purpose of teaching the Male-stilts, the Master said: - O Male-stilts, in the past, animals also thought: “It is not appropriate for us, if we live without respect, with respect for each other, without living according to each other. After we know who is the oldest among us, we will pay homage to him.” After carefully researching and knowing the oldest person, they paid homage to him, so when they died, they were reborn in the fullness of the heavenly world. Having said this, the Master told the story of the past. * Once upon a time, on the slopes of the Himalayas lived three animals near a large eagle tree: a pheasant, a monkey, and an elephant. They live without respect, without respect, without mutual consent. Then they think, “It is not worthy for us to live like this. Whoever is the oldest among us, we will pay homage to him!" While they were investigating the oldest among them, one day, among them, this vehicle arose when all three of them were sitting under an eagle tree, Pheasant and monkey asked the elephant: – Hey elephant, do you know, when you first saw this tree, how big was that tree? The elephant said: - Guys, when I was little, the eagle tree was just a bush, I passed it and touched my thigh. When I stood across that tree, the tallest branch only reached my navel. So I've known this tree since it was a bush. Then the two animals asked the monkey as if groaning. The monkey said: - Hey guys, when I was a baby monkey, I sat on the ground, just stretched out my neck, could eat the tallest shoot of this young eagle tree. So I have known this tree since I was a child. The other two animals asked the pheasant again. The pheasant said: - Friends, once upon a time, in a certain place, there was a big eagle tree. I ate fruit, defecated in this place, from there, this tree grew. Thus, I have known this tree since it did not grow. Therefore, I am older than you. Hearing this, the monkey and the elephant said to the wise pheasant: - Hey, you are older than us. From now on, we will revere, respect, prostrate, and make offerings to you. We will bow, welcome, join hands, serve the victims. We will obey your advice. From now on, you will only teach and advise us. From that day on, the pheasant counsels them, abides them in the precepts, and personally observes the precepts. All three animals respect and respect each other, agree to each other, live like this until their death, and then go to heaven. The Master said: - The purpose of these three animals is to live the holy life thanks to the pheasant. If, bhikkhus, these animals lived respectfully and respectfully to one another, then why, having left the home life in this well-taught Law, could not live in mutual respect and respect? Hey monks, I advise you, from now on, depending on your age, pay respects, welcome, join hands, serve; according to age, reserve the best seats, the best alms food; From now on, never again will an elder be contested for a place by a young man. Whoever competes will commit a crime. After narrating this Dharma talk, the Perfectly Enlightened One recited the verse: Those who respect the elderly, Are skilled in the Dharma, are praised in this life, In the next life, are born in a good land. * Thus, the Teacher spoke in praise of honoring the elders and combined the two stories together, and then identified the Forefather: - At that time, the elephant was Moggallana, the monkey was Xa. Loi-fu and the pheasant are Me. -ooOoo- 38. THE STORY OF OTHER CHILDREN (Baka's predecessor) Those who have the wisdom to deceive ... , This story, when in Ky Vien, the Master told about a Male-stilts working as a tailor. According to the legend, There was a bhikkhu residing in Ky Vien who was very skilled at sewing robes, such as cutting, assembling, arranging, and sewing, etc. Because of this skill, he often made robes and was named Medical Tailor. What did he do? From worn pieces of cloth, with skillful hands, he makes a pleasingly soft robe. Having finished sewing, he dyes it with powdered water, irons it with snail shells, and makes it smooth and beautiful. Those Male-stilts who do not know how to make a robe, bring new cloth to that Male-stilt and say: - Friend, we don't know how to make a robe, please help us sew. That female-stilts said: - Hey, sage, finishing one medicine takes a lot of time, but now I have a new medicine. Leave this cloth, take it and use it. He brought him out for them to see. Those bhikkhus, seeing only his beautiful color, but not knowing his inner self, thought that he should definitely give the bhikkhu-stilts a new sheaf of cloth, exchange them for him, and depart. When he gets a little sticky and is washed in hot water, his true nature becomes apparent. Here and there, the worn out places are exposed. They regret the previous exchange. Thus he deceives those who bring cloth to sew, and everywhere knows about it. Just like a monk who cheated in Ky Vien, in a certain small village there was another bhikkhu who was lucky enough to deceive people. The Male-stilts of his friend reported: - Venerable, in Ky Vien there is a tailor who deceives people like the Venerable. He said to himself, "I will deceive the tailor in this town." He made a robe with many beautiful old cloths, dyed it with deep yellow, and put on that robe and went to Ky Vien. The other tailor saw him, got greedy and asked: - Venerable Sir, is this man sewn? - Hey sage, yes, I did. - Venerable, give me this robe, the venerable will take another. - Hey sage, we are from the village, very hard to get the items. If I give the sage this robe, what will I put on? - Venerable sir, I have a new fabric that has not yet been sewn. The venerable said so, what can I refuse? Well, sage, take it. Having given him a robe consisting of many old cloths, he took a new cloth, deceived that bhikkhu, and then departed. A bhikkhu from Ky Vien, after a few days put on that robe, washed it with hot water, saw worn out cloths, and was mocked and embarrassed. It was well known to all the Sangha that the tailor in Ky Vien had been deceived by a tailor in a small village. One day, in the Dharma hall, the monks were sitting talking about that story. The Master came and asked the Male-stilts who were sitting to discuss what. The Male-stilts are sitting discussing something. The Male-stilts presented the story, the Master said: - The Male-stilts, it is not only now that the tailor in Ky Vien has deceived others. In past times, He also cheated. And the tailor in the small village has not only deceived the tailor in Ky Vien. In the past, he too deceived and Having said this, the Teacher told the story of the past. * Once upon a time, in a forest, a Bodhisattva was born as a tree god. The tree grew near a lotus pond. At that time, in another lake, which was not very large, during the drought season, the water was low, but there were many fish. A stork sees a school of fish, thinks of a way to cheat and eats them. The stork went to the lake and sat by the water's edge, thinking. Seeing that, the fish asked the stork: - What are you thinking about? - I sit thinking about you! – What do you think of us? – In this lake, the water is dry, the food is little, and the drought is great. Now what will you do? We are sitting here thinking. "So, sir, what shall we do?" "Hey, if you do as I say, I'll have you in my beak, takes you to a large lake filled with lotus flowers of five colors, and drops you there. "Sir, from the beginning of the world until now, storks have never thought of fish. He just wanted to eat us one by one. - I will not eat you when you have faith in me. If you don't believe me that there is a lake over there, send a fish with me to see the lake for itself. The fish believed the stork, immediately sent a large fish, blind in one eye, thinking that it was capable of opposing the stork in water and on land, and told the stork to take it away. The stork took the fish, took it away, released it in the lake, showed the whole lake, then brought it back, releasing it with the fish in the old lake. This fish is about to praise the charm of the new aquarium for you to hear. Hearing it's praise, the fish all wanted to go and said to the stork: - Good luck, please take us. The stork first carried that big one-eyed fish, Take him to the lake, show him the lake, then perch on the Vanara tree that grows by the lake. The stork threw the fish between the two branches, pecked the fish with its beak, killed it and ate the meat, dropped the bones on the tree, and returned saying: - The fish has been released by me. Another child, go. With that method, the stork takes away the fish one by one, eats the whole school, and in the end, finds no more fish. There, only the crab remained. The stork wanted to eat it, so he said: - Hey crab, all those fish were taken away by me, dropped into a big lake full of lotus flowers, come there, I will take you away! – How did you take me away? - Hold on to you, I'll take it. “Take me away like that, you will drop me. I won't go with you. - Don't be afraid, I will hold you tight and take you away. The crab thought, “It brought the fish but didn't put the fish in the lake. If it drops us into the lake, that's fine. If it doesn't let go, I will cut its neck and kill it." Then the crab said to the stork: – Hey stork, you can't hold me for sure. We clamped crabs clamped tight. If I take the pincer around your neck, I will clamp your neck and go with you. The stork did not know that the crab wanted to deceive him, so he agreed. As with the blacksmith's pliers, the crab, with its claws, gripped the trigger neck tightly and said: – Come on, let's go! The stork took the crab away, first showing it the lake, and then towards the Vanara tree. The crab said: – Hey, the lake is on this side, why are you taking me to the other side? – Yes, I am your best friend, and you are my best friend. Do you think I'm your slave, pick you up and take you away? Look at this pile of bones under the Vanara tree! And I ate all those fish, too, now I will eat you! - Those fishes because of stupidity should be eaten by you. But I won't let you eat me. Crab said. I will kill you! You are so stupid! You were tricked by me without knowing it. If you die, you both die! I will cut off your head before I fall to the ground! After saying that, the crab clamped the trigger's neck like a pincer. With his mouth wide open, tears slowly flowing, too frightened for fear of death, the stork said: – Sir, I will not eat you. Let me live! - If you come down and drop me in the lake. The stork flew back, landed in the lake, and released the crabs on the muddy surface of the lakeside. But the crab, before going into the water, cut the stork's neck like a knife cuts a lotus stem. The tree-dweller, seeing this wonder, caused the whole forest to resound with praise when he uttered this verse with a sweet voice: The wise are deceitful Unfortunately deceived, The wise stork Scam Has been pushed back by the crab. * The Teacher said: - The Male-stilts, It is not only now that the tailor in Ky Vien has been deceived by the tailor in the village. In the past, he was also deceived. After giving this Dharma talk, the Master combined the two stories and identified the Forerunner: - At that time, the tailor in Ky Vien was a stork, the tailor in the village was a crab, and I was the god of the tree. -ooOoo- 39. STORY of the NANDA Slave (Nanda's predecessor) Thought to be a burial place..., This story, while in Ky Vien, the Master told about a disciple of the Elder Sariputra. Legend has it that that bhikkhu was a docile, patient man, often making efforts to serve the Elder. Once, after asking permission from the Teacher, the Elder had gone on foot to the land of Dakkhinagiri in Southern Magadha, where that bhikkhu, coming to this land, became arrogant, stubborn, disobeying the Elder. When the Elder said: - Hey, sage, do this. He immediately caused a rebellion against the Elder. The elder did not know why his personality changed like that. After walking there, the Elder went back to Ky Vien. Since following the Elder to Ky Vien, the behavior of the Male-stilts has returned to the way it was. The elder said to the Tathagata: - Blessed One, I have a disciple who, in one place, behaves like a slave bought for a hundred coins, but in another place, becomes arrogant. stubborn, saying anything will cause resistance. The Master said: - This, Sariputra, this Male-stilts is not new to have such a temperament. In the past, when he came to this place, he behaved like a slave bought for a hundred bucks, but when he went to another place, he quarreled and opposed. Having said this, at the Elder's request, the Master told the story of the past. * Once upon a time, when King Brahamadatta reigned in the land of Benares, The Bodhisatta was born into the family of a landowner. The Bodhisatta's friend was also an older landowner than the Bodhisatta, but had a young wife who had given birth to a son. The old landowner thought: “My wife is young, when I die, who will I marry and spend this property instead of giving it to my son? Then we'd better bury our wealth in the ground." Thinking so, the landlord brought a slave in the house named Nanda, went into the forest, buried the property in a place and said: - Hey Nanda, after I die, please tell my children this property. . Don't forget the forest. After giving such advice, the old landowner died. The son gradually grew up, reaching adulthood, his mother said: - Hey dear, your father brought the slave Nanda, buried his property. Tell him to bring it and govern the inheritance. One day, the young man said to Nanda: - Hey man, Did my father bury the property? - Sir, yes! - Where to bury assets? - Sir, in the forest. - Then let's go get it. After taking the hoe and basket, going to the burial place, the young man asked: - Hey, where is the property? Nanda climbed up, stood on the place where the property was buried, because of that property, it started to be arrogant and scolded the young man who owned it: - Go! The naughty child, the slave child. From where did you get this property? Hearing its evil language, the young man pretended not to hear anything, just said: - Let's go home. Then the two of them returned. After two or three days, the two left again, but Nanda scolded again. The young man did not speak bad language to him, and thought over and over as follows: “This slave, when he left, intended to tell me about his property. But going there, scolding me again, I don't know why? Well, my father has a friend of the landowner, go and ask him." That young man went to the Bodhisatta, presented all the facts and asked: - Sir, for what reason is the place where Nanda scolds me, where my father buried his inheritance? - Son, when Nanda scolds you, you should only say: O slave, who are you scolding? Then pull it out, dig there with a hoe, take the family heirloom, tell the slave to pick it up and bring it home. Having said this, the Bodhisatta recited this verse: Thinking that it was a burial place. Piles of gold and jewels, The place where a slave was born. His name is Nanda-ka Standing and shouting harsh words. The young man immediately bowed to the Bodhisatta, went home, and took Nanda to the place where his wealth was buried. Following the advice, the young man also obeyed the bodhisattva's advice, doing meritorious deeds such as giving... until the end of his life followed his karma. The Master said: - In the past, his character was the same. * After the Master gave this Dharma talk, he combined the two stories and identified the Predecessor. - At that time, Nanda was a disciple of Sariputra, and the wise landowner was I. -ooOoo- 40. THE STORY OF THE FIRE PAIN OF A Glue Tree (Khadirangara predecessor) I would rather fall into hell…, This story, while staying at Ky Vien, the Master told about Mr. Grade Loneliness. Mr. Loneliness has spent all for the Buddha's Dharma an amount of five hundred and forty million dong to build a monastery, and he can't think of any other treasures than the three jewels of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. While the Master was in Jetavana, the millionaire went to the monastery three times a day to make offerings: once in the morning, one at noon, and one in the afternoon. In addition, there are many other help. Mr. Grade Loneliness never went empty-handed, afraid of novices or young Male-stilts to see if he had brought anything in his hand. In the morning he brought porridge, After breakfast bring ripe avocado, fresh avocado, honey, honey sugar. In the afternoon, he brought incense, garlands, and cloth for clothes. Day after day, he consumes like this, without restriction. In addition, many people make a living by trading, handing over debt notes, borrowing an estimated property of one hundred million dong from him, and the Great Millionaire does not ask them to pay. Other assets worth one hundred and eighty million dong were buried on the riverbank. When the wind blew and the water broke the riverbank, the inheritance was washed into the great sea. Sinking into the sea are brass pots and pans that are still locked and sealed with original seals. In the millionaire's house there is always a meal for five hundred bhikkhus, the great millionaire's house is like a clear green well at the crossroads for the monks, like a parent's house for all the masses. Therefore, the Perfectly Enlightened One often goes to the millionaire's house. Eighty great Elders also came. Other Male-stilts also come and go unspeakable. The house of the great millionaire has seven floors, decorated with seven gates. At the fourth gate of that house, a goddess with wrong views resided. When the Perfectly Enlightened One entered the house, the goddess could not stay in her own floor, so she brought her small children down to the last floor. When the eighty great Elders and other Elders come and go, the goddess must do the same. She thought: "When the recluse Gotama and his disciples entered this house, I was not at peace; We can't always go to the ground floor. What should we do to prevent these people from coming to this house again?” One day, when the superintendent had returned to his room to rest, the goddess came over, shining with light, and stopped. Asked: – Who is it? She replied: - I am the goddess who resides at the fourth gate. - Why did she come here? - He did not see the millionaire's work, did not think about the next life for himself, spent his property, enriched the recluse Gotama, did not worry about business, did not worry about work. Please advise the millionaire to do his job, do not let the recluse Gotama and his disciples enter this house anymore. The steward said to the goddess: - O foolish goddess, if a millionaire uses wealth, he only uses it for the Buddha's Dharma leading to liberation. Even if the millionaire grabbed my bun and sold me into slavery, I wouldn't say anything. Let her go. The other day, the goddess went to the eldest son of the millionaire and gave similar advice. The eldest son scolded her as before. But she dared not tell this to the millionaire. Due to non-stop giving, due to not doing business, the money collected gradually decreased, his property went to the end. Gradually millionaires fell into poverty, property, clothes, beds, food are no longer the same as before. Even in such a state, Mr. Loneliness still made offerings to the Sangha, although he could not offer good food. One day, after Mr. Loneliness bowed down and sat down, the Blessed One asked: - Householder, do you still have alms in your house? "Venerable Sir, there is an alms-giving. It is broken porridge with sour powder left from yesterday. The Master said: - Householder, don't be sad when you give away gross and ugly things. When the mind is good, the objects offered to the Buddhas, Paccekabuddhas, and disciples of the Buddhas will not become gross. Why? Because the fruit is huge. Whoever can make the mind good, the giving cannot be gross. So you need to understand. And the World-Honored One read the verse: When the mind is purified, Don't call small, To the Tathagata, the Buddhas, Or to His disciples, No offering is considered small. The World-Honored One added: - Householder, you offer bad food, but make offerings to the eight saints. During the time of Velama, I stirred up the whole Jambudvipa with the giving of seven treasures; while giving great alms, I make them flow as if making five rivers become one waterfall. But I could not find anyone who took the Three Refuges or kept the Five Precepts. Such worthy people are hard to find. Therefore, when giving me bad food, your mind should not be troubled. Then the Master spoke the Vemaka Sutra. At that time, the goddess did not dare to speak to the millionaire when he was in power, thinking: "Now this millionaire is in a difficult situation, he can listen to me." Thinking so, in the middle of the night, the goddess entered his room, illuminating the aura, standing in the middle of nowhere. The millionaire saw her and asked: - Who are you? - Hey, big millionaire, I'm the goddess at the fourth gate. - What have you come for? - I want to give you advice. - Then tell me! - Hey, great millionaire, you don't think about the future, don't look at your sons and daughters. He squandered his wealth on the Dhamma of the recluse Gotama. Because he had squandered his property for a long time, because he did not do a new job, because of the recluse Gotama, he became poor. Things were like that, he still did not give up the recluse Gotama. Today, those ascetics still enter his house as before. What they took from him, could not be brought home. Be sure it is. But from now on, don't go to the recluse Gotama yourself. Do not allow the disciples of the ascetic to enter this house anymore. Turn your back and don't look at the recluse Gotama anymore. Start your own business and rebuild your business. The millionaire said to the goddess: - Is that the advice you need to give me? – That's right. The millionaire said: - The Master has made me unshaken by a hundred, by a thousand, by a hundred thousand goddesses like you. My faith is like Mount Tu-di, unwavering, well-settled. The wealth we use for the Dharma treasure leads to liberation. Your words are not appropriate, it is a blow caused by you to hit the Buddha's teachings, the black demon lacks politeness, follows the evil precepts, no matter you live in my house. Get out of my house, go somewhere else. The goddess heard the words of the noble disciple, who had attained Stream-winner status, could not stay, so she returned to her place of residence, took her child in her arms, and left, with the meaning: "If I cannot find another place, I will apologize to the millionaire and will stay there." Thinking thus, she went to the deity who protected the city, bowed down to him, and stood up. When asked: – What happened to her? She replied: - Dear Thien Tu, I unintentionally talked to Mr. Lonely Level, So the millionaire got mad at me, kicked me out of the house. Take me to the millionaire who apologizes and asks me to stay at home. "But what did she tell the millionaire?" - From now on, do not protect the Buddha, do not protect the Sangha, do not let the recluse Gotama enter the house. Dear God, I said so! - Her words are unjustified, a blow to the Dharma. I can't take her to the millionaire. Not receiving support from this one, the goddess went to the four Great Heavenly Kings, which were also rejected by those four. The goddess went to God, Emperor Thich, told this story and asked for more urgent help: – Dear God, I have no place to stay, I have to carry me in my arms, I wander without shelter. With your power, give me a place to live! The Lord replied: - You have done something inappropriate, you have dealt a blow to the Conqueror's Dhamma. I can't speak to the millionaire for you. But I will tell you a method to make a millionaire forgive you. - Good Lord, please speak up. - There are many people who have borrowed from the great millionaire some property worth one hundred and eighty million dong... You pretend to represent the millionaire without telling anyone, hold that debt note, with a certain amount of money. The young yaksha surrounded him, holding a debt note in one hand and a receipt in the other, went to their house, stood in the middle of the house, threatened them with his yaksha power, and said: "This is your debt note. you guys. When our millionaires were powerful, nothing was asked of you. Now that he is in need, return the money you borrowed." With the power of your yaksha, you will get back all of those one hundred and eighty million gold coins, filling up the millionaire's empty treasury. The millionaire also had another property buried on the banks of the Aciravati River, when the river bank was eroded, it was washed into the sea. With your might, bring back that wealth, fill the treasury. There is another property, worth one hundred and eighty million dong, lying unattended somewhere, take it back and fill the empty treasury. With that five hundred and forty million dong, you fill up the empty coffers, use it to make atonement, and then ask the great millionaire to forgive your sins. The goddess replied: - Good thing, Lord. The goddess accepted the Lord's word, bringing all the fortune as was said. In the middle of the night, the goddess entered the millionaire's brilliant room, illuminating the aura, standing in the middle of nowhere. Asked who she was, she replied: - Great millionaire, I am a blind and stupid goddess at the fourth gate. Because I'm so stupid, I don't know the merits and virtues of the Buddha, told him wrong words in the days before. Please forgive my mistake! According to God, I have reclaimed the debt of one hundred and eighty million dong for him, brought the sum of one hundred and eighty million dong, which was washed out to sea, and buried without owner in a certain place. Thus I have brought a hundred and forty million dong to fill your empty coffers to atone for sins. The money he spent on the Ky Vien monastery, all of it has now been collected. Because I don't have a place of residence, I am very miserable. Don't think about what I did because of my ignorance. Forgive me, great millionaire. Mr. Loneliness, hearing this, thought to himself: "This goddess is saying that she has made atonement for her sins and has confessed her sins. The Master will consider this, and will tell him his merits. I will bring the goddess to meet the Perfectly Enlightened One." The millionaire said: - O goddess, if you want to apologize to me, apologize to me in front of the Teacher. – Fortunately, I will do the same. Take me to the Master. The millionaire agrees. When the night was over, in the morning the millionaire brought the goddess to the Teacher and reported to the Tathagata all the deeds of the goddess. When the Master heard it, he said: - Here, householder, an evil-doer, when evil is not yet ripe, he sees as good. When his evil is ripe, only then will he see it as evil. He who does good, when his good is not yet ripe, he sees as evil; when his good is ripe, only then does he see it as good. Then the Master uttered these two verses in Dhammapada 119 and 120 Evil people see as good When evil is not yet ripe, When evil karma is ripe, evil people see evil. The good see evil, When good is not ripe, When good is ripe, Good people see as good." At the end of this verse, the goddess attests to the fruit of the Stream. She bowed down to the Master's wheel-adorned feet and said: - Venerable sir, because I am infected with craving, agitated by anger, obscured by delusion, covered by ignorance, I do not know his virtues. Blessed One, having spoken evil words, please forgive me. Then she was forgiven by the Master, and by the great millionaire. At that time Mr. Loneliness was in front of the Master, saying his merits: - World-Honored One, this goddess tried to stop me: Don't make offerings to the Buddha etc...! But you can't stop me. She tried to stop me: Don't give alms! But I still give alms. Venerable Sir, this is my merit. The Master said: - Householder, you are a noble disciple who has attained the fruit of Stream-winner, has unwavering faith, has pure knowledge. It is no wonder that he was not stopped by this helpless goddess. But what is truly wonderful is that the sage of the past, when the Buddha had not yet appeared, when his wisdom was not yet ripe, even though the devil, the master of the sensual realm, stood in the middle of nowhere and said loudly: If you give alms, you will be burned alive in this hell, and show a pit full of burning coals eighty elbows deep, even if it is blocked: Don't give, the Wise will stand in the middle of a lotus giving alms as usual. Having said this, at the request of Mr. Loneliness, the Master told the story of the past. * Once upon a time, when King Brahmadatta reigned in Ba-la-complaint, the Bodhisatta was born into the family of a millionaire in Ba-la-complaint, raised in luxury as a prince. When he reached adulthood, barely sixteen years old, the Bodhisatta attained mastery in all techniques. After his father's death, he was elevated to the status of a millionaire, The Bodhisatta built six schools of alms, four houses at the gates of four cities, one house in the center of the city, and one house in front of the gate of his residence, and organized large alms, kept the precepts, observed the days of the Father- slap. One day, during breakfast, when delicious dishes were brought in for the Bodhisattva, a Solitary Buddha, after seven days of meditation, just emerged from concentration and commented: "It's time to go out for food. must go to the house of the millionaire Ba-la-complaint". After brushing his teeth with a toothbrush with betel nut, washing his face at Anotatta Lake, then standing on the Manosila plateau, the Paccekabuddha wore a lower robe, tied a belt, put on his outer robe, and took an earthenware bowl. appeared, walked through space and stood in front of the house, while breakfast was brought in for the Bodhisatta. When the Bodhisatta saw the Paccekabuddha, he immediately got up from his seat, looked at the attendant, and pointed out that he needed to offer food. The servant said: - Sir, what should I do? The Bodhisatta said: - Bring that bowl of taste here. Right at that moment, the evil demon appeared, thinking to himself: "This Paccekabuddha only received food seven days ago, if he does not eat today, he will die. I will make him die and make him stop giving alms." At that moment, the Devil came, manifesting in the house a huge coal pit eighty elbows deep (one elbow = 45 cm). That lake was full of forest coals of burning acacia, burning red with tops, appearing like hell. After creating that pit of embers, the Demon stood alone in the middle of nowhere. The servant came and was about to bring the bowl back, but when he saw this, he turned back in panic. The Bodhisatta asked, "My dear son, why have you returned?" The man said: - Sir, there is a pit of burning coals in the house, burning red and burning with tops. The others who came were also frightened and ran away. The Bodhisattva thought, "Today, The devil is powerful, trying to stop me from giving. We need to let it know that even a hundred Ma, a thousand Ma, or a hundred thousand Ma will not make us waver. Today we will show them who is stronger than who, who is more powerful than whom.” The Bodhisatta himself took the bowl of rice that was ready, went out of the house, stood right on the shore of the lake, looked up at the sky, saw Evil, and asked: - Who are you? - I am the Devil. - Did you manifest this pit of coals? - Yes, I manifest myself. – For what purpose? - For the purpose of preventing you from giving alms, for the purpose of killing the life of the Paccekabuddha. The Bodhisatta said: - I will not let you stop me from giving. I also won't let you kill the life of a Paccekabuddha. Today, I will make you know between you and me, who has the greater power. Still standing on the edge of the pit of burning coals, the Bodhisatta said: - White World Honored One, Paccekabuddha, Even if I fall upside down into this fiery pit, I will not turn back. May the Blessed One accept the food offered by me. Then the Bodhisatta read this verse: I would rather fall into hell, Upper leg, lower head, I will do holy work, Take the food. Then with firm determination, the Bodhisatta took a bowl of rice and stepped onto the surface of the burning pit! When the Bodhisatta did this, a beautiful lotus flower sprouted from the face of the burning coal pit eighty elbows deep, supporting the Bodhisattva's feet. From that lotus flower, lotus pistil about a large jumbo shot up, fell on the head of the Great Being, covering the whole body like a sprinkle of gold. The Bodhisatta stood on a lotus flower and placed in the bowl of the Paccekabuddha various delicious dishes. The Paccekabuddha received food, uttered words of joy, then threw his bowl into the air, and right in front of the eyes of the crowd, himself flew up into the air towards the Himalayas, leaving a cloud line consisting of many special magical shapes. And the Demon was defeated and sadly returned to his abode. The Bodhisatta was still standing on a lotus throne, preaching the Dharma to the assembly, praising almsgiving and virtue, and, with the crowds surrounding him, entered his abode. The bodhisattva spends his whole life doing meritorious deeds, and then when his life ends, he follows his karma. * The Master said: - Hey, homeowner, this is not a miracle when a person full of knowledge like him does not let goddesses shake. Truly wonderful is what the Wise One did in the past. After giving this lecture, the Master combined the two stories, and identified the Forerunner: - At that time, the Paccekabuddha at that place entered Nirvana, and I was the millionaire Ba-la-complaint, After defeating Arma, standing on a lotus, offering alms food into the bowl of the Paccekabuddha. End of Kulavaka Product (Kulavaka).END=NAM MO SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).WORLD VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST ORDER=BUDDHIST DHARMA WHEEL GOLDEN ZEN BUDDHIST MONASTERY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THE WOMEN OF THE SAKYA CLAN CHAN TANH.AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.17/3/2023.VIETNAMESE TRANSLATE ENGLISH BY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THE WOMEN OF THE SAKYA CLAN CHAN TANH.